Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Future Job Opportunities at the U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census bureau has posted their new and varied paid employment opportunities which are available to everyone. The jobs include the following: Census Taker, Crew Leader, Recruiting Assistant, Crew Leader Assistant and Census Clerk. For detailed information call 1-866-861-2010 and follow the step-by-step instructions. TTY information at 1-800-877-8339. I tried it and it was very easy.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Project Letters
I just received an email from Carlos E. Galindo, the coordinator for Project Letters who is trying to get anyone and everyone to write a letter to President Obama about immigration reform and mail it on February 12, 2009. This could be a great project for you and your student to work on together. Read on for more information . . .
Greetings, I'm Carlos E. Galindo and I am the Coordinator for Proyecto Cartas also known as Project Letters. We have launched a serious campaign to promote this very important project on a national and global basis. The concept behind this project is that every individual interested in immigration reform or bettering our economy here in these great United States send a letter to President Obama on February 12, 2009. Why February 12, 2009 you may ask? February 12, 2009 is the bicentennial birth date of Abraham Lincoln. As we all know Barack Obama has been greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln and has patterned much of his political life after Lincoln and has quoted him in many speeches and in his book the "Audacity of Hope". This is a very symbolic date based on the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains and the possibility exists that President Elect Obama could free those immigrants currently living in the shadows of their virtual chains.
Just imagine, millions of letters going out on the same day. What an impact this will have on the postal system and the media attention will be impressive. The infusion of money into the postal system will be incredible. This will allow the immigrants and others to voice their needs utilizing the oldest form of communication and allows those utilizing this method to avoid having to march in the streets and yet it is an assimilation into the American culture. The show of force from not just those immigrants seeking an immigration reform but those U.S.
Citizens who believe in the need to have low skilled labor to continue prospering this economy and to allow those twelve million plus undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and openly participate and contribute to this great nation.
We currently have support from the local media in print and the smaller television stations have had me on their programs explaining this program. We have garnered an incredible amount of support from the general public both Immigrants and mainstream Americans including African Americans and Asians. This is a non-partisan project and does not draw lines as to gender, race, creed or color. Everyone including children, the elderly and all family members can write a letter to our soon to be President, Barack Obama. All letters must be personally written. Many other have launched campaigns for letter writing, but unfortunately they included form letters signed by many participants in that project and as we know form letters do not carry the weight necessary to impact congress or the White House. These must be personally written in as brief as a few words or can be lengthy telling a personal story or dilemma, however all seeking the same change.
Immigration Reform!!!
Just Imagine millions of letters arriving to the White House two to three days after being sent on this very symbolic day!!! All letters must be ready for security purposes and must be categorized. This is an impressive and ambitious project!!!
It is important to note that I am not part of any particular organization and I am not in any way benefiting financially from this project. I am currently hosting a radio talk show and I actually pay to be on the air and give solid information to our community in Spanish.
The idea behind our radio show is to support the Hispanic Community and to allow them to have a voice in what is affecting them daily.
Please help us promote this very important project nationwide!!!!
Professionally,
Carlos E. Galindo
cgalindo@swvalleyliteracy.org
Proyecto Cartas
Project Letters
www.proyectocartas.com <http://www.proyectocartas.com
Cell: (602)550-6246
Office: (602)222-9100
1901 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Carlos E. Galindo
President
Southwest Valley Literacy Association
(623)695-4323
www.southwestvalleyliteracy.org
"Teach someone to read, it lasts a lifetime"
Greetings, I'm Carlos E. Galindo and I am the Coordinator for Proyecto Cartas also known as Project Letters. We have launched a serious campaign to promote this very important project on a national and global basis. The concept behind this project is that every individual interested in immigration reform or bettering our economy here in these great United States send a letter to President Obama on February 12, 2009. Why February 12, 2009 you may ask? February 12, 2009 is the bicentennial birth date of Abraham Lincoln. As we all know Barack Obama has been greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln and has patterned much of his political life after Lincoln and has quoted him in many speeches and in his book the "Audacity of Hope". This is a very symbolic date based on the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains and the possibility exists that President Elect Obama could free those immigrants currently living in the shadows of their virtual chains.
Just imagine, millions of letters going out on the same day. What an impact this will have on the postal system and the media attention will be impressive. The infusion of money into the postal system will be incredible. This will allow the immigrants and others to voice their needs utilizing the oldest form of communication and allows those utilizing this method to avoid having to march in the streets and yet it is an assimilation into the American culture. The show of force from not just those immigrants seeking an immigration reform but those U.S.
Citizens who believe in the need to have low skilled labor to continue prospering this economy and to allow those twelve million plus undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and openly participate and contribute to this great nation.
We currently have support from the local media in print and the smaller television stations have had me on their programs explaining this program. We have garnered an incredible amount of support from the general public both Immigrants and mainstream Americans including African Americans and Asians. This is a non-partisan project and does not draw lines as to gender, race, creed or color. Everyone including children, the elderly and all family members can write a letter to our soon to be President, Barack Obama. All letters must be personally written. Many other have launched campaigns for letter writing, but unfortunately they included form letters signed by many participants in that project and as we know form letters do not carry the weight necessary to impact congress or the White House. These must be personally written in as brief as a few words or can be lengthy telling a personal story or dilemma, however all seeking the same change.
Immigration Reform!!!
Just Imagine millions of letters arriving to the White House two to three days after being sent on this very symbolic day!!! All letters must be ready for security purposes and must be categorized. This is an impressive and ambitious project!!!
It is important to note that I am not part of any particular organization and I am not in any way benefiting financially from this project. I am currently hosting a radio talk show and I actually pay to be on the air and give solid information to our community in Spanish.
The idea behind our radio show is to support the Hispanic Community and to allow them to have a voice in what is affecting them daily.
Please help us promote this very important project nationwide!!!!
Professionally,
Carlos E. Galindo
cgalindo@swvalleyliteracy.org
Proyecto Cartas
Project Letters
www.proyectocartas.com <http://www.proyectocartas.com
Cell: (602)550-6246
Office: (602)222-9100
1901 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Carlos E. Galindo
President
Southwest Valley Literacy Association
(623)695-4323
www.southwestvalleyliteracy.org
"Teach someone to read, it lasts a lifetime"
Monday, December 8, 2008
Annual Christmas Party & Award Banquet
We appreciate everyone who attended the Project Read Annual Christmas Party and Award Banquet. The evening was lovely, the food delicious, the entertainment beautiful, and of course it was wonderful to spend the evening with friends and recognize the hard work and contributions of Project Read tutors and students. We appreciate those board members who attended, and we look forward to an even better year in 2009.
We especially appreciate our sponsors, Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse who provided the pork & potatoes for the meal. In addition, Costa Vida, Bajio, Magleby's, Los 3 Amigos, Macaroni Grill, Chik-Fil-A, Nicolitalia Pizza, Fazoli's, & Honey Baked Ham donated gift certificates for the awards to tutors & students.
Project Read Director Shauna K. Brown recognized Toni Johnson as the Tutor of the Year:
Other outstanding tutors and students were also recognized:
Project Read Program Coordinator Bryan Bennett and some of his friends (Michelle Parker, Anneli Hansen, Julie Chatfield, Mandi Alexander, Charla Aranda, Taylor Ralston, and Scott Richards; Jamie Williams on the piano and Elizabeth Zenger on the violin) provided beautiful entertainment including several choral numbers and a violin/piano duet:
The food (provided by Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse) was delicious and everyone had an enjoyable evening:
A visit from Santa Claus (with gift bags) was the highlight for the many children in attendance:
We especially appreciate our sponsors, Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse who provided the pork & potatoes for the meal. In addition, Costa Vida, Bajio, Magleby's, Los 3 Amigos, Macaroni Grill, Chik-Fil-A, Nicolitalia Pizza, Fazoli's, & Honey Baked Ham donated gift certificates for the awards to tutors & students.
Project Read Director Shauna K. Brown recognized Toni Johnson as the Tutor of the Year:
Other outstanding tutors and students were also recognized:
Project Read Program Coordinator Bryan Bennett and some of his friends (Michelle Parker, Anneli Hansen, Julie Chatfield, Mandi Alexander, Charla Aranda, Taylor Ralston, and Scott Richards; Jamie Williams on the piano and Elizabeth Zenger on the violin) provided beautiful entertainment including several choral numbers and a violin/piano duet:
The food (provided by Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse) was delicious and everyone had an enjoyable evening:
A visit from Santa Claus (with gift bags) was the highlight for the many children in attendance:
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Free Online English Classes
Office of Vocational and Adult Education Launches Online English Portal
Starting today, immigrants and other adults who want to learn or improve their English skills can log on to a new free Online English Portal called USALearns. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its Division of Adult Education and Literacy, oversaw the design of USALearns.org.
Launch of the site completes a goal set by President Bush in his August 10, 2007 announcement of initiatives to address border security and immigration challenges in the United States--a plan to have the U.S. Department of Education develop and launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, expand their opportunities, and make effective contributions to American society."
To access or learn more about the new Portal, visit http://www.usalearns.org/ or view a fact sheet at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/pdf/USALearnsFactSheet08.pdf.
Starting today, immigrants and other adults who want to learn or improve their English skills can log on to a new free Online English Portal called USALearns. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its Division of Adult Education and Literacy, oversaw the design of USALearns.org.
Launch of the site completes a goal set by President Bush in his August 10, 2007 announcement of initiatives to address border security and immigration challenges in the United States--a plan to have the U.S. Department of Education develop and launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, expand their opportunities, and make effective contributions to American society."
To access or learn more about the new Portal, visit http://www.usalearns.org/
Friday, November 14, 2008
FedEx Kinko's Pitches In
Many organizations and individuals played key roles in making the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee possible. FedEx Kinko’s really stood out among this group. When asked why his store chose to donate more than $1,000 in-kind in printed spelling bee flyers and brochures, Justin, an assistant manager from the FedEx Kinko’s store, responded, “Looking at the cause and recognizing the importance of adult literacy, I wanted to get involved. I want to be clear that I am not in this just for the business. I want to be a part of making the community better.” Justin has recently been promoted to store manager. We congratulate him and thank him for his help! Well, g2g. Thanks for helping us “change lives through literacy.”
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
New Student Policy
Beginning this month, Project Read now needs new students to show proof of Utah residency before they can begin our program. This can be done by showing one of the following:
***This new policy does not apply to those students already in our program.***
- Utah Driver's license
- Utah State ID
- Utah fishing or hunting license
- Utah library card
- Utility, house, or phone bill in the student's name and uses a street address (not a PO box)
- Current car registration
- Utah high school or college report card
- Official letter from employer stating the job of the student
- Utah voter registration
- Registration of the student's child in a Utah school
***This new policy does not apply to those students already in our program.***
Monday, October 27, 2008
Getting Writing Samples from Your Students
Somewhere along the way we've dropped the ball asking you, the tutor, to have your students 
offer writing samples. We have a writing contest for the summer party and we collect holiday memories for the holiday party. At these times, we ask students and tutors to enter a short story (or long if they want), we give them a topic ideas, and the tutor and student take it from there. We don't edit these entries; we publish them "as is" in a booklet we hand out at those two events.
We don't need a summer or Christmas party to encourage our students to write. What we need is for you, the tutor, to prompt them -- give them some topic to write about and let them go. Tell your student the "essay" can be as long or short as they wish. It can be a personal story, a made up story, about feelings, or anything else they want to write about. Our director provides a new writing prompt in each monthly newsletter--this is a great starting point!
The following is a wonderful story submitted by one of our students at the prompting of her tutor. It's a perfect example of a writing sample and in this case, we learn something about another culture as well.
Read on!
Korean Thanksgiving (unedited)
In September we have a big holiday in Korea. It's like our Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holiday put together. We make food and have a ceremony for our ancestors. Then we go to the cemetery.We have a big table with food. My deceased mother's and father's pictures are on the table. There is also a letter picture with symbols of memories of them that we give to them. We open every window and door and imagine that my mother and father come in. All the brothers bow to them one by one. A daughter does not bow traditionally, because she is not part of that family. She becomes part of her husband's family. After bowing, we talk to our parents silently about our wishes. I talked to my mother about my wish to have a health family. My mother died a few years ago and I was not able to go to her funeral. I wanted to go for this holiday to worship my parents. After the talking to our parents, we eat special foods. I was able to talk to my brothers over dinner and they talked to each other. They aren't able to get together very often.This celebration happens early in the morning. After we finish eating, we go to the cemetery. When we do to the cemetery, we cultivate the lawn around the tomb. We also take flowers. Some families bring the food to the cemetery, when they don't worship at home. They perform the ceremony there. Our family does it at home. On New year's Day, by the lunar calendar, we have a similar holiday to honor our ancestors, but we don't go to the cemetery on that day. Before the September holiday our family went to my big brother's house to help make the food. Usually a sister does not go to her big brother's house, because she would go with her husband's family. Since I was visiting from America, I went. My brother's house was so clean. Everything was put away so we could have room to make the food. They even put away the couch and table. My little brother lives far away, so he went to my big brother's house two days before the holiday and stayed there. Many things have changed in my country for this holiday. So many people are traveling before and after the holiday, that the traffic is terrible. Some people don't go to the cemetery. They stay at the oldest brother's house. They want to avoid the traffic. If some of the brothers don't want to go to the cemetery, the others take care of the gravesite. When the brothers don't have time to go to the oldest brother's house, they just send money or call and say they can't come. Traditional the oldest brother has the responsibility to take care of the parents. The reason is that the oldest brother inherits 50% of the parents' property. The other brothers divide up the other 50% of the property.
Please, take a minute and help your student create a writing sample to share. You can post on this blog to share and you can also use the blog to ask questions of each other, tutor to tutor, student to student, student to tutor.
Let the ‘blogging’ begin!
Sue
offer writing samples. We have a writing contest for the summer party and we collect holiday memories for the holiday party. At these times, we ask students and tutors to enter a short story (or long if they want), we give them a topic ideas, and the tutor and student take it from there. We don't edit these entries; we publish them "as is" in a booklet we hand out at those two events.We don't need a summer or Christmas party to encourage our students to write. What we need is for you, the tutor, to prompt them -- give them some topic to write about and let them go. Tell your student the "essay" can be as long or short as they wish. It can be a personal story, a made up story, about feelings, or anything else they want to write about. Our director provides a new writing prompt in each monthly newsletter--this is a great starting point!
The following is a wonderful story submitted by one of our students at the prompting of her tutor. It's a perfect example of a writing sample and in this case, we learn something about another culture as well.
Read on!
Korean Thanksgiving (unedited)
By: Wonsook Lee
In September we have a big holiday in Korea. It's like our Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holiday put together. We make food and have a ceremony for our ancestors. Then we go to the cemetery.We have a big table with food. My deceased mother's and father's pictures are on the table. There is also a letter picture with symbols of memories of them that we give to them. We open every window and door and imagine that my mother and father come in. All the brothers bow to them one by one. A daughter does not bow traditionally, because she is not part of that family. She becomes part of her husband's family. After bowing, we talk to our parents silently about our wishes. I talked to my mother about my wish to have a health family. My mother died a few years ago and I was not able to go to her funeral. I wanted to go for this holiday to worship my parents. After the talking to our parents, we eat special foods. I was able to talk to my brothers over dinner and they talked to each other. They aren't able to get together very often.This celebration happens early in the morning. After we finish eating, we go to the cemetery. When we do to the cemetery, we cultivate the lawn around the tomb. We also take flowers. Some families bring the food to the cemetery, when they don't worship at home. They perform the ceremony there. Our family does it at home. On New year's Day, by the lunar calendar, we have a similar holiday to honor our ancestors, but we don't go to the cemetery on that day. Before the September holiday our family went to my big brother's house to help make the food. Usually a sister does not go to her big brother's house, because she would go with her husband's family. Since I was visiting from America, I went. My brother's house was so clean. Everything was put away so we could have room to make the food. They even put away the couch and table. My little brother lives far away, so he went to my big brother's house two days before the holiday and stayed there. Many things have changed in my country for this holiday. So many people are traveling before and after the holiday, that the traffic is terrible. Some people don't go to the cemetery. They stay at the oldest brother's house. They want to avoid the traffic. If some of the brothers don't want to go to the cemetery, the others take care of the gravesite. When the brothers don't have time to go to the oldest brother's house, they just send money or call and say they can't come. Traditional the oldest brother has the responsibility to take care of the parents. The reason is that the oldest brother inherits 50% of the parents' property. The other brothers divide up the other 50% of the property.
Please, take a minute and help your student create a writing sample to share. You can post on this blog to share and you can also use the blog to ask questions of each other, tutor to tutor, student to student, student to tutor.
Let the ‘blogging’ begin!
Sue
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
2008 Spelling Bee
I have been neglecting our blog for other seemingly more important matters at Project Read (think Spelling Bee, grants, etc.). Anyway, my new brilliant (yes, brilliant) idea is to have each of my staff members make a post each week. Of course, I'm first. :) So watch for a post from Sue next week, followed by Krista and then Bryan. We'll try to keep you up to date with what's going on at Project Read, any news from the state or national literacy front, and then give general tips and ideas for tutoring. Since it's been awhile, I'd thought I'd back up and give a few highlights from our 2008 Spelling Bee:
Contestants, spectators, and Provo City Mayor Lewis Billings converged at the second annual Project Read Spelling Bee, held Saturday, 27 September 2008 in the ballroom of the Provo City Library, to enjoy a little friendly competition while helping Project Read raise funds and awareness in support of its non-profit adult literacy program. Teams of three huddled around whiteboards as they tried to out-spell their opponents. From team spelling and emergency lifelines to costume contests and concessions, this was no average spelling bee. The golden touch of the event may very well have been the Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson busily buzzing around the event all afternoon in a giant bumble bee costume.
The atmosphere was one of philanthropy more than rivalry. With the help of a dozen volunteers and the excited involvement of the friends and family of the competitors, the event was a great success. Hale Center Theater Orem, Carraba’s, Goodwood, Magleby’s, Magleby’s Fresh, and Fat Cats donated gift certificates and prizes for the winners of various competitions. Premier Auto Brokers supported the event as a corporate sponsor, and FedEx Kinko’s Office Center donated a large portion of the printing costs for the materials promoting the bee. Thirteen teams competed to become the 2008 Spelling Bee champions and take home the beautiful winner’s crescent award, donated by Mullett-Hoover Inc.
Competing for best costume, teams came dressed as robots, nerds, and more. No Joke, a team sponsored by United Way, took the title of best team costume. But no team name could come close to the creativity of the “Super Calloused Fragile Mystics Hexed with Halitosis,” a team sponsored by the BYU Linguistics Department.
The Project Read Annual Spelling Bee is certainly a way to take another shot at the glory of becoming spelling bee champs, but without too much pressure. “I didn’t want it to be serious or scary like the National Spelling Bee you see on TV,” said Shauna K. Brown, executive director of Project Read. “It’s more fun when the audience gets involved and there’s not so much pressure to perform.”
The "Dream Team Deleyne" (featured in the photos below in bright blue shirts) took home the grand prize (season tickets to the Hale Center Theater) and of course, the opportunity to be known as the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee Champs. Way to go!
Check out some of our great photos from the event:
Our mascots are always a highlight.
Connor Brown & Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson "strut their stuff."
Neither looks incredibly happy about his role . . .
Enjoying The Secret Life of Bees
Mayor Lewis Billings, Tad Walch of the Deseret Morning News, and Dr. Wendy Baker of the
BYU Linguistics Department served as judges for the event.
Dana Robinson was our illustrious MC.
Lee Bartlett once again served as the "pronouncer."
Contestants signed in at the registration table.
The Nelson Nerds were once again ready for battle (rulers, protractors, and pencil protectors at the ready).
Contestants, spectators, and Provo City Mayor Lewis Billings converged at the second annual Project Read Spelling Bee, held Saturday, 27 September 2008 in the ballroom of the Provo City Library, to enjoy a little friendly competition while helping Project Read raise funds and awareness in support of its non-profit adult literacy program. Teams of three huddled around whiteboards as they tried to out-spell their opponents. From team spelling and emergency lifelines to costume contests and concessions, this was no average spelling bee. The golden touch of the event may very well have been the Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson busily buzzing around the event all afternoon in a giant bumble bee costume.
The atmosphere was one of philanthropy more than rivalry. With the help of a dozen volunteers and the excited involvement of the friends and family of the competitors, the event was a great success. Hale Center Theater Orem, Carraba’s, Goodwood, Magleby’s, Magleby’s Fresh, and Fat Cats donated gift certificates and prizes for the winners of various competitions. Premier Auto Brokers supported the event as a corporate sponsor, and FedEx Kinko’s Office Center donated a large portion of the printing costs for the materials promoting the bee. Thirteen teams competed to become the 2008 Spelling Bee champions and take home the beautiful winner’s crescent award, donated by Mullett-Hoover Inc.
Competing for best costume, teams came dressed as robots, nerds, and more. No Joke, a team sponsored by United Way, took the title of best team costume. But no team name could come close to the creativity of the “Super Calloused Fragile Mystics Hexed with Halitosis,” a team sponsored by the BYU Linguistics Department.
The Project Read Annual Spelling Bee is certainly a way to take another shot at the glory of becoming spelling bee champs, but without too much pressure. “I didn’t want it to be serious or scary like the National Spelling Bee you see on TV,” said Shauna K. Brown, executive director of Project Read. “It’s more fun when the audience gets involved and there’s not so much pressure to perform.”
The "Dream Team Deleyne" (featured in the photos below in bright blue shirts) took home the grand prize (season tickets to the Hale Center Theater) and of course, the opportunity to be known as the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee Champs. Way to go!
Check out some of our great photos from the event:
Our mascots are always a highlight.
Connor Brown & Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson "strut their stuff."
Neither looks incredibly happy about his role . . .
Enjoying The Secret Life of Bees
Mayor Lewis Billings, Tad Walch of the Deseret Morning News, and Dr. Wendy Baker of theBYU Linguistics Department served as judges for the event.
Dana Robinson was our illustrious MC.
Lee Bartlett once again served as the "pronouncer."
Contestants signed in at the registration table.
The Nelson Nerds were once again ready for battle (rulers, protractors, and pencil protectors at the ready).
Friday, August 22, 2008
Using the Fall Elections for Instruction
It seems like the 2008 Presidential campaign has been underway for months, but the heaviest campaigning is yet to come. Once the conventions are held and Labor Day passes, the newspapers and radio and television airways will be jam-packed with information for voters.
The election coverage offers lots of opportunities for those working with adult learners.
ProLiteracy has compiled this extensive list of resources that may help you use the elections as a learning tool:
Elections and Voting in Utah
The election coverage offers lots of opportunities for those working with adult learners.
ProLiteracy has compiled this extensive list of resources that may help you use the elections as a learning tool:
Elections and Voting in Utah
Nonprofit Vote is an online, state-specific voter participation resource for nonprofits who want to engage clients in voting and democracy. Scroll down to Elections and Voting in Utah: http://nonprofitvote.org/
A Nonprofit's Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum is a step-by-step manual to planning, publicizing and hosting a nonpartisan candidate forum. A candidate event is a great way to engage adult learners in a local election, build clout for the adult literacy issue, and learn more about the candidates. Invite the general public to your forum to increase public understanding of adult literacy and the democratic process. hosting-a-candidate.pdf
A Nonprofit's Guide to Voter Registration This guide covers voter registration forms, the benefits of registering voters, registering voters in your office, and in the community. And it discusses the importance of being nonpartisan. Includes handy checklist. voter-registration.pdf
The League of Women Voters is well known for providing factual, nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues, and for hosting citizen educational forums on public policy issues. When you go to the Website, click on Projects, then Voter Information to find: Election Basics - What is a Primary? ; What is a Caucus?; State information ; The Electoral College System; Electing the President: A Guide to the Election Process ; Voter registration; Polling place locator; voter information in Spanish. http://www.lwv.org
- Vote411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters, is a "one-stop-shop" for election-related, nonpartisan information on the following aspects of the election process:
Absentee ballots
Ballot measure information (where applicable)
Early voting options (where applicable)
Election dates
Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races
General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye
ID requirements
Polling place locations
Registration deadlines
Voter qualifications
Voter registration forms
Voting machines
Go to http://www.vote411.org/ - Project Vote Smart Classroom includes lessons, suggestions for teachers, Project Vote Smart Vocabulary, Introduction to the U.S. Government. votesmart.org
- Young Voters Resource from Project Vote Smart, 18in08 is a nonpartisan documentary film and movement targeting 17 to 24-year-olds. 18 in 08: The Film features interviews with influential politicians, figures from popular culture, political activists, media commentators, student leaders, and young people. 18in08.com
- Easy Voter Guide [California only] is a quick guide to state elections, including elected offices, propositions, political parties and voting issues, and offers education tools about elections and voting in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. It is available for downloading in these five languages, plus Japanese, Tagalog, and Armenian. easyvoter.org
Monday, July 21, 2008
Teaching Vocabulary
At our training meeting Saturday, there were several questions about how to teach vocabulary. Of course, now that I have this fun blog, I was intrigued, did some research, and came up with a number of articles and tips to share with my wonderful tutors. I want to specifically share two articles by Dorit Sasson, but I will include several links at the bottom of this post to other articles. Please feel free to post your comments with your own ideas or additional questions. I look forward to hearing from you!
How to Teach Vocabulary
Motivating Students to Learn New Words in the ESL Classroom
© Dorit Sasson
Feb 6, 2007
Effective learning of a foreign or second language involves to a great extent learning new vocabulary words... and a lot of them. What is the trick?
Research has it: Adults and adolescents need between 10 and 16 encounters with a new word before they can put it in their long term memories. This has implications for vocabulary practice. Letters, sounds, words, chunks, grammatical structures need to be spread out and built up from noticing, to recognition to production.
From passive to active production
There is a gradual progression in vocabulary learning. Learners usually start by noticing then recognizing a word before they are able to produce it.
There are four stages in the acquisition of new vocabulary:
The learner notices the new word (with help)
The learner learns to recognize it (with help)
The learner recognizes it on his/her own
The learner can both recognize and produce it.
Putting theory into Practice: Ways to make vocabulary learning interesting
Students need to be motivated to learn vocabulary constantly. Therefore, it is important that the review is as interesting as possible in terms of the types of exercises, strategies and activities. The visual element is equally important. Here are some of the activities I tend to use in my EFL classroom. They are, by no means exhaustive.
Stage 1: Noticing the word: the visual element
Dorit Sasson is an ESL teacher and freelance writer for the educational market. Read about Dorit's services for new teacher support at: http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/.
You can also read additional articles, tips and resources at the new teacher support website at: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com.
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
Vocabulary Games and Activities, A Pre-Reading Lesson Plan
© Dorit Sasson
Sep 13, 2007
Pre-reading lesson plans involve learning how to use a variety of vocabulary games and activities.
There is no limit to how many vocabulary activities a teacher can use, but there is a bit of restriction as to how to use them, especially during the first ten minutes of a reading lesson otherwise known as a 'pre-reading' part of the lesson plan.
Using Vocabulary in a Pre-Reading Lesson
Vocabulary activities can easily start off a pre-reading lesson. When it comes to using vocabulary activities, a pre-reading lesson should contain some if not all, of the new vocabulary. Some ideas include: starting with a brainstorm, comics, a quotation, a dialogue or a sentence as lead-in.
Teaching Vocabulary Strategies
When a text may have too many challenging or difficult words, a teacher may want to employ a variety of techniques such as translation, picture matching, or explaining the new vocabulary in context. Pre-teaching vocabulary helps:
Dorit Sasson is an ESL teacher and freelance writer for the educational market. Read about Dorit's services for new teacher support at: http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/.
You can also read additional articles, tips and resources at the new teacher support website at: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com.
Other interesting articles and ideas I stumbled across:
Dave's ESL Cafe Idea Cookbook
EFL Vocabulary Teaching Tips
Important Vocabulary Definitions
Vocabulary: The Power of Guessing
How to Teach Vocabulary
Motivating Students to Learn New Words in the ESL Classroom
© Dorit Sasson
Feb 6, 2007
Effective learning of a foreign or second language involves to a great extent learning new vocabulary words... and a lot of them. What is the trick?
Research has it: Adults and adolescents need between 10 and 16 encounters with a new word before they can put it in their long term memories. This has implications for vocabulary practice. Letters, sounds, words, chunks, grammatical structures need to be spread out and built up from noticing, to recognition to production.
From passive to active production
There is a gradual progression in vocabulary learning. Learners usually start by noticing then recognizing a word before they are able to produce it.
There are four stages in the acquisition of new vocabulary:
The learner notices the new word (with help)
The learner learns to recognize it (with help)
The learner recognizes it on his/her own
The learner can both recognize and produce it.
Putting theory into Practice: Ways to make vocabulary learning interesting
Students need to be motivated to learn vocabulary constantly. Therefore, it is important that the review is as interesting as possible in terms of the types of exercises, strategies and activities. The visual element is equally important. Here are some of the activities I tend to use in my EFL classroom. They are, by no means exhaustive.
Stage 1: Noticing the word: the visual element
- Flashcards
- Pictures
- True/false
- Categorize the words
- Matching. (this category is huge with both open and closed types of exercises)--matching the word to its definition, L1-L2, opposites, adjectives and nouns, verbs and adverbs, word to the picture, match two words that go together
- Multiple choice
- Drawing the word
- Bingo games
- Circle the word you hear
- Dictation
- Answering questions
- Guessing games: I’m thinking of:
- Picture description
- Miming
- Try to have as many success oriented activities that are geared to the age groups you teach.
- Gradually progress from one stage to another but vary the activities within each stage.
- Consider appealing to the various multiple intelligences. The visual element in learning is particular important – for all age groups but particularly important for younger children.
Further Reading
How much vocabulary does a second language learner need?
1000 most common vocabulary words
Research and Practice in Teaching Vocabulary
Dorit Sasson is an ESL teacher and freelance writer for the educational market. Read about Dorit's services for new teacher support at: http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/.
You can also read additional articles, tips and resources at the new teacher support website at: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com.
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
Vocabulary Games and Activities, A Pre-Reading Lesson Plan
© Dorit Sasson
Sep 13, 2007
Pre-reading lesson plans involve learning how to use a variety of vocabulary games and activities.
There is no limit to how many vocabulary activities a teacher can use, but there is a bit of restriction as to how to use them, especially during the first ten minutes of a reading lesson otherwise known as a 'pre-reading' part of the lesson plan.
Using Vocabulary in a Pre-Reading Lesson
Vocabulary activities can easily start off a pre-reading lesson. When it comes to using vocabulary activities, a pre-reading lesson should contain some if not all, of the new vocabulary. Some ideas include: starting with a brainstorm, comics, a quotation, a dialogue or a sentence as lead-in.
Teaching Vocabulary Strategies
When a text may have too many challenging or difficult words, a teacher may want to employ a variety of techniques such as translation, picture matching, or explaining the new vocabulary in context. Pre-teaching vocabulary helps:
- learners focus on the subject of the text
- teachers predict the content of the text using the target vocabulary.
This pre-reading section of the lesson should take approximately ten minutes. Then, when the text is being read to the students, the teacher has the chance to either confirm the students' predictions or, to go straight to the main reading task depending on what was previously done.
Fun Vocabulary Games and Activities
There are also pre-reading lessons that are based on vocabulary review. Essentially, these act like warm-ups that have the effect of calming the class and help you get ready for the main task at hand. There are a variety of fun vocabulary activities that have game-like features that are very motivating:
- "I'm thinking of" - You give the class a few definitions corresponding to a 5-6 vocabulary words and the students guess the word.
- The teacher whispers the word and the students try and recognize the word.
- The teacher spells the word backwards and the students try and recognize the word.
- Bingo using the words. The teacher calls out the definitions or translations.
If the teacher feels that an adequate amount of practice via these recognition activities has been reached, s/he can opt for more challenging vocabulary games and activities that aim to reduce fear and hesitancy that is sometimes characteristic of language learners studying a language that isn't their mother tongue. Examples:
- The telephone game or otherwise known as: "What word did you say?"
- Mini-Dialogues: students are given a situational context and they need to use the vocabulary.
- Dictations: students fill in a sentence using a choice from three words the teacher says.
Over to You:
Take a look at the pre-reading part of your reading plan. Do you have varied vocabulary activities and games? Which ones have you tried? Which ones would you like to try. Try keeping a journal of those vocabulary lessons that went successfully and always aim for new and different ways to motivate your students to learn vocabulary.
Used with permissionDorit Sasson is an ESL teacher and freelance writer for the educational market. Read about Dorit's services for new teacher support at: http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/.
You can also read additional articles, tips and resources at the new teacher support website at: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com.
Other interesting articles and ideas I stumbled across:
Dave's ESL Cafe Idea Cookbook
EFL Vocabulary Teaching Tips
Important Vocabulary Definitions
Vocabulary: The Power of Guessing
Friday, July 18, 2008
Welcome to the Project Read Blog!
Well, we've done it; we've joined the "technology age" and started a Project Read blog--we're glad you're here to check it out. For now, we just have one blog; but ideally, I would like to have a blog for tutors, another for students, and a third for Project Read supporters. The thing I love about blogs is the living, breathing (okay, not really), but the interactive nature of a blog. On my personal blog, my favorite thing is to receive comments--so comment freely my friends and share your wisdom with one another. I would really like this to be a forum for Project Read tutors, students, and supporters to connect with one another in a real and meaningful way.
My initial idea was for tutors to be able to share tips and ideas for tutoring. Along those lines, I'm going to post something I recently received on a listserv and some of the responses that were sent in so we're all on the same page:
Tutor asks, "I'd like to know if you have anything that can help a student with the "a sounding like a short u" sound (such as in addition, amuse, about, around, etc.). Thank you very much for your help."
Responses:
"This is a sound that actually changes to "schwa", the upside down e in the dictionary. It's common in what are known as "open, unaccented a's". The vowel is "open" because when you divide the word into syllables the a will be by itself and of course the accent is obvious. Teach the student how to divide words. Teach them open syllables which usually have a long vowel sound. (For example the word "open"). Then teach them the exception, that open unaccented a's will switch to the "uh" sound or schwa. You can call this the vanilla rule or the banana rule if you like. Almost always an open unaccented a at the beginning of a word will follow this rule."
Susan Landrum
Central Georgia Technical College
Volunteer Tutor
salandrum@aol.com
That schwa sound is the bedevilment of absolutely everyone, and it is new information for many novice tutors. We introduce it as soon as there is an opportunity at every level...by sharing the name of the sound, writing the word in all its CCCCV glory, its history, and its universally confounding presence in the language. After the tutors know that it's there and lurking in the language, they feel more comfortable letting learners in on the inside track to that alternate sound for a, e, i, and o.Ordinarily, we'll post a list of the words that start with the letter a that make the schwa sound. Ahead, above, around, against, allow, Alaska...and note that the schwa is the secret sound that binds us all irrevocably together.
I especially like having this shared experience among long-term tutors, novice tutors, board members, audiences at public speaking opportunities, learners, and anyone who may have an interest in the literacy movement. The schwa is certainly one reason why we have Literacy councils, reading tutors, and ESL tutors.
Pointing it out, celebrating its presence in the language, and naming it for all to share, works for me.
Carole Sawchuck
Central PA Literacy Council
Lemoyne, PA
centralpaliteracycouncil@comcast.net
The short U sound is called the "schwa." It is substituted for vowels and always in unaccented syllables when words have two or more syllables. The symbol used for the sound is an unside-down e. Some examples are: a-about e-happen i-holiday o-onion
Margie Kinslow
Executive Director
Literacy Alliance of Brevard
Titusville, FL
brevardliteracy@bellsouth.net
http://www.brevardliteracy.org/
This is actually a very common occurrence. All vowels end up making thatshort "u" sound when they occur in unaccented syllables (check yourexamples to see that this is true for them). This is called the "schwa"sound. So what the tutor needs to do is teach the student that allvowels have three sounds: long, short and schwa. In the case of theletter "u", the short and schwa sounds are the same. Also be aware thatin some words, the vowel sound in the unaccented syllable(s) is closerto a short "i" but is still considered a schwa.
Gaylon Umbarger
Literacy Kansas City
GUmbarger@LiteracyKC.org
On an unstressed syllable or an unstressed word (such as the article"a") the "a" is reduced to a schwa (sounding like short u).
Christi Graff
Learning Lab Inc.
Garden City, Idaho
christig@learninglabinc.org
I agree that the best method would be to introduce Mary to the schwa and useit regularly in her instruction. The other four vowels, a, e, i, and o allhave the short /u/ sound known as the schwa in words such as above, the,pencil, and other. With adults I have had success teaching all the sounds ofa single vowel - so for a - in order of frequency - a as in at, a as inbaby, a as in father, and a as in above (schwa). Good luck.
Margaret Rogers
Adult Education Consultant
Sacramento, CA
marogers-princess@sbcglobal.net
My initial idea was for tutors to be able to share tips and ideas for tutoring. Along those lines, I'm going to post something I recently received on a listserv and some of the responses that were sent in so we're all on the same page:
Tutor asks, "I'd like to know if you have anything that can help a student with the "a sounding like a short u" sound (such as in addition, amuse, about, around, etc.). Thank you very much for your help."
Responses:
"This is a sound that actually changes to "schwa", the upside down e in the dictionary. It's common in what are known as "open, unaccented a's". The vowel is "open" because when you divide the word into syllables the a will be by itself and of course the accent is obvious. Teach the student how to divide words. Teach them open syllables which usually have a long vowel sound. (For example the word "open"). Then teach them the exception, that open unaccented a's will switch to the "uh" sound or schwa. You can call this the vanilla rule or the banana rule if you like. Almost always an open unaccented a at the beginning of a word will follow this rule."
Susan Landrum
Central Georgia Technical College
Volunteer Tutor
salandrum@aol.com
That schwa sound is the bedevilment of absolutely everyone, and it is new information for many novice tutors. We introduce it as soon as there is an opportunity at every level...by sharing the name of the sound, writing the word in all its CCCCV glory, its history, and its universally confounding presence in the language. After the tutors know that it's there and lurking in the language, they feel more comfortable letting learners in on the inside track to that alternate sound for a, e, i, and o.Ordinarily, we'll post a list of the words that start with the letter a that make the schwa sound. Ahead, above, around, against, allow, Alaska...and note that the schwa is the secret sound that binds us all irrevocably together.
I especially like having this shared experience among long-term tutors, novice tutors, board members, audiences at public speaking opportunities, learners, and anyone who may have an interest in the literacy movement. The schwa is certainly one reason why we have Literacy councils, reading tutors, and ESL tutors.
Pointing it out, celebrating its presence in the language, and naming it for all to share, works for me.
Carole Sawchuck
Central PA Literacy Council
Lemoyne, PA
centralpaliteracycouncil@comcast.net
The short U sound is called the "schwa." It is substituted for vowels and always in unaccented syllables when words have two or more syllables. The symbol used for the sound is an unside-down e. Some examples are: a-about e-happen i-holiday o-onion
Margie Kinslow
Executive Director
Literacy Alliance of Brevard
Titusville, FL
brevardliteracy@bellsouth.net
http://www.brevardliteracy.org/
This is actually a very common occurrence. All vowels end up making thatshort "u" sound when they occur in unaccented syllables (check yourexamples to see that this is true for them). This is called the "schwa"sound. So what the tutor needs to do is teach the student that allvowels have three sounds: long, short and schwa. In the case of theletter "u", the short and schwa sounds are the same. Also be aware thatin some words, the vowel sound in the unaccented syllable(s) is closerto a short "i" but is still considered a schwa.
Gaylon Umbarger
Literacy Kansas City
GUmbarger@LiteracyKC.org
On an unstressed syllable or an unstressed word (such as the article"a") the "a" is reduced to a schwa (sounding like short u).
Christi Graff
Learning Lab Inc.
Garden City, Idaho
christig@learninglabinc.org
I agree that the best method would be to introduce Mary to the schwa and useit regularly in her instruction. The other four vowels, a, e, i, and o allhave the short /u/ sound known as the schwa in words such as above, the,pencil, and other. With adults I have had success teaching all the sounds ofa single vowel - so for a - in order of frequency - a as in at, a as inbaby, a as in father, and a as in above (schwa). Good luck.
Margaret Rogers
Adult Education Consultant
Sacramento, CA
marogers-princess@sbcglobal.net
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